ANT/Indonesia has 19 billion ton coal deposits

Denpasar, Bali (ANTARA News) - Indonesia has at least 19 billion tons of coal deposits that may replace oil and gas as a source of energy in the future, an Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry official said on Monday.

"Only a small part of the coal deposits has so far been used as the country`s coal production reaches 150 million tons per year," the ministry`s director general for mineral, coal and geothermal energy, Simon F. Sembiring said after opening the International Energy Conference and the 6th Coal Tech Conference.

He said the coal production would be raised in stages.

By 2005, the coal production was projected to reach 200 million - 300 million tons per year to meet domestic demand, he said, adding nearly 60 percent of the country`s coal deposits are good to generate electrical power.

Some 150 participants from Japan, the United States, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia are taking part in the meeting. (*)